"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough."-Emily Dickinson
"With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things." -William Wordsworth
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Oh to be Happy
I skip over cobblestones,
Under trees of cherry red
In this dappled lane
I find I'm happy again
I breath in the air
Silvery and fresh
A bubble of laughter
Builds in my chest
A pulse that is steady
My heart beats alive
I never want to come down
From these glorious heights
Oh to be happy
This must be divine
My skin will burst
Full of this golden light
Under trees of cherry red
In this dappled lane
I find I'm happy again
I breath in the air
Silvery and fresh
A bubble of laughter
Builds in my chest
A pulse that is steady
My heart beats alive
I never want to come down
From these glorious heights
Oh to be happy
This must be divine
My skin will burst
Full of this golden light
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Beautiful Moment
Sometimes life in its beauty stuns you. It hits you at the most random moments. Since being here in England, I've realized how intricately tied the different lovely aspects of this life are: Architecture...music...history...food...art...nature...literature... These things are a part of what makes us alive, truly alive.
I'm sitting in the upstairs portion of my favorite coffee shop here in Oxford "Greens Cafe". It's painted a soft green, there's artwork hanging on the walls and fresh flowers on the tables. There's a fire place in one corner by the bookshelves stocked with books. I've got my tea in a huge mug and my homework spread out all over the table. The window next to me is open and I can feel the mellow autumn sunshine. Outside is a beautiful brick building, probably hundreds of years old, covered in vines and sheltered by green trees. Right next door out the open window, is the moss-covered roof of the pub where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien sat and discussed life. The clouds are starting to cover the sun and I can smell coolness in the air. The couple across the room are talking gently to each other in French. The older gentleman sitting on the couch wearing a jacket and glasses is deep in a book, ignoring his chocolate muffin. And here I am, soaking it all in with the soft strains of piano music in my headphones while pondering the literary influence of King Arthur and Robin Hood on British nationalism.
Sometimes all those beautiful aspects of life collide together at once...and they create a perfect moment.
I'm sitting in the upstairs portion of my favorite coffee shop here in Oxford "Greens Cafe". It's painted a soft green, there's artwork hanging on the walls and fresh flowers on the tables. There's a fire place in one corner by the bookshelves stocked with books. I've got my tea in a huge mug and my homework spread out all over the table. The window next to me is open and I can feel the mellow autumn sunshine. Outside is a beautiful brick building, probably hundreds of years old, covered in vines and sheltered by green trees. Right next door out the open window, is the moss-covered roof of the pub where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien sat and discussed life. The clouds are starting to cover the sun and I can smell coolness in the air. The couple across the room are talking gently to each other in French. The older gentleman sitting on the couch wearing a jacket and glasses is deep in a book, ignoring his chocolate muffin. And here I am, soaking it all in with the soft strains of piano music in my headphones while pondering the literary influence of King Arthur and Robin Hood on British nationalism.
Sometimes all those beautiful aspects of life collide together at once...and they create a perfect moment.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Quote of the Day
"Pride and Prejudice is so intense! I mean its no Bourne Identity but I'm still at the edge of my seat!" -Annalyssa
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
London Itinerary
TUESDAY
1. Airplane Trip to Heathrow Airport (Hell...or if that's a bit extreme, at least an extremely uncomfortable, claustrophobic, sleepless Purgatory)
2. Tube ride to Hotel (Ecstatic...I loved my first glimpse of England. It is everything I'd hoped.)
3. Check in to Hotel (Cute...a doll's size room with a view of a cobblestone street)
4. Lunch/ Dinner at Wagamama (Delicious...I was starving! And those noodles were so good)
5. Walk to the Bus Station (Rainy...which I love! On our walk we saw Kensington Gardens. We might have gotten a tad lost too)
6. Bus ride on a double decker bus! (Idyllic...what could London be without a big red bus! We saw the closer half of the city until we were too exhausted to go any farther)
7. Gelato (Mint Chip...what else?)
8. Grocery Shop at the nearby market for breakfast food (Um....too tired to remember much about that.)
9. Early to Bed (Needed...I was pretty cranky I can't lie. So bed was pretty heavenly)
WEDNESDAY
1. Donuts! (Yum)
2. Double Decker Bus (Amazing!...we saw the rest of the city. All the tourist spots like Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Tower of London, St. Paul's, and pretty much all the cool, beautiful, historic parts of the city! We listened on headphones and got a ton of background history. You wouldn't believe all the views we got from the top story of the bus. I loved it that it sprinkled a bit too! This was one of those surreal experiences. I was just sitting there thinking, "This can't be happening to me")
3. Lunch to go. We ate it at a park in front of an old church (Perfect...paninis and salad and a beautiful quiet garden)
4. More getting lost and riding around on the tube (Still fun...I am getting a hang of the tube! Slowly but surely! My foot did get stuck in one of the entrance gates, but that's a bit too embarrassing to talk about. In one of the stations, someone was playing the saxophone which echoed beautifully all through the tunnels. Also, my mom and I got so wrapped up in people watching that we even missed our exit)
5. A cruise down the Thames River (Wow...we saw more stunning views of the city, went under all the different bridges, and got glimpses of the Shakespeare Globe, extremely old pubs, the Tate Museum, and more of Big Ben and the rest of London's fabulous skyline)
6. The Tower of London (Well...we just walked around the grounds which were surprisingly gorgeous. We're going inside tomorrow. It's the most medieval building still standing in London. It looks terrifying and pretty and historic all wrapped into one.)
8. Coffee Break (Rejuvenating...cutest little cafe overlooking the Tower Bridge. We watched the rain pour outside the window and sipped frothy coffees in real mugs)
7. Westminster Abbey (Historic...of course it was beautiful; it made me want to just sit down in awe to pray. The ceilings were my favorite and the stain glass windows came in close second. But hands down, the best part for me was the historical aspect. I saw the tombs of Queen Elizabeth, several King Henry's and Edwards, Mary Queen of Scots, and Chaucer. I mean...wow. That's a ton of really historical figures just right there. Not to mention the hundreds more tombs that were there, along with all the tiny chapels tucked away and dedicated to famous historical figures. Some oddities: a monument to Shakespeare (in a church?!) and the tomb of evolutionist Charles Darwin.)
8. Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery (Bummer...it ended up being closed, we got our times wrong. But the square was beautiful at dusk with fountains and monuments and the glistening wet streets from the rain.)
9. Dinner (Fabulous...I was hungry. We went to this really cute Italian place. Who said English food was bad? So far, we haven't had a bad meal! We had pizza and salad and I think I almost ate the entire pizza by myself!)
10. Back to the hotel (Bedtime...early start tomorrow)
WEDNESDAY
1. Tower of London (Medieval....I couldn't believe i was standing in THE Tower of London. It was insanely cool. There was still etchings in the cells from prisoners. Much of the tower was blocked off, we only saw a few cells. The rest was old chapels and bed chambers for the royalty that stayed there in times of distress. I thought it was interesting they really were trying to make it seem like a glorified castle rather than the grim place it really used to be. The grounds were beautiful though! Who would have thought? And it was sooo old! That's what blew my mind. Sitting in the middle of this thriving city is this almost perfectly reserved place of history. So much history.)
2. Buckingham Palace. (Stately...just like a place for royalty should be. We didn't go inside or in the gardens in back because they charge absurd amounts, but it was fun to see it. The park next to it was sprawling acres of green gorgeousness. While walking around the grounds we ate some ham paninis!)
3. British Library (Awesome....being a massive book lover, this blew me away. There was an exhibition where we saw first edition Shakespeare, handwritten notes of Jane Austen, handwritten jottings of Bach, Handel, Beetoven, and the Beatles! There was drawings of Di Vinci as well! All in their own hands, it was so cool! The library itself was many stories tall just full of shelves of books. I could have been there for hours!)
4. Quick change into clothes to go see Les Miserables (Little black dress!)
5. Dinner (So good...at this little Italian place next to the theatre. Their lasagna was to die for! It was fun to be a bit dressed up too!)
6. Les Miserables (Speechless...I laughed, I cried. I knew I loved the story and the music, but you put it all together with some great actors and singers and you get chills! It was unbelievable I didn't want it to end! And the music has been stuck in my head ever since! Such an amazing experience).
7. Get ready Oxford here I come!
1. Airplane Trip to Heathrow Airport (Hell...or if that's a bit extreme, at least an extremely uncomfortable, claustrophobic, sleepless Purgatory)
2. Tube ride to Hotel (Ecstatic...I loved my first glimpse of England. It is everything I'd hoped.)
3. Check in to Hotel (Cute...a doll's size room with a view of a cobblestone street)
4. Lunch/ Dinner at Wagamama (Delicious...I was starving! And those noodles were so good)
5. Walk to the Bus Station (Rainy...which I love! On our walk we saw Kensington Gardens. We might have gotten a tad lost too)
6. Bus ride on a double decker bus! (Idyllic...what could London be without a big red bus! We saw the closer half of the city until we were too exhausted to go any farther)
7. Gelato (Mint Chip...what else?)
8. Grocery Shop at the nearby market for breakfast food (Um....too tired to remember much about that.)
9. Early to Bed (Needed...I was pretty cranky I can't lie. So bed was pretty heavenly)
WEDNESDAY
1. Donuts! (Yum)
2. Double Decker Bus (Amazing!...we saw the rest of the city. All the tourist spots like Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Tower of London, St. Paul's, and pretty much all the cool, beautiful, historic parts of the city! We listened on headphones and got a ton of background history. You wouldn't believe all the views we got from the top story of the bus. I loved it that it sprinkled a bit too! This was one of those surreal experiences. I was just sitting there thinking, "This can't be happening to me")
3. Lunch to go. We ate it at a park in front of an old church (Perfect...paninis and salad and a beautiful quiet garden)
4. More getting lost and riding around on the tube (Still fun...I am getting a hang of the tube! Slowly but surely! My foot did get stuck in one of the entrance gates, but that's a bit too embarrassing to talk about. In one of the stations, someone was playing the saxophone which echoed beautifully all through the tunnels. Also, my mom and I got so wrapped up in people watching that we even missed our exit)
5. A cruise down the Thames River (Wow...we saw more stunning views of the city, went under all the different bridges, and got glimpses of the Shakespeare Globe, extremely old pubs, the Tate Museum, and more of Big Ben and the rest of London's fabulous skyline)
6. The Tower of London (Well...we just walked around the grounds which were surprisingly gorgeous. We're going inside tomorrow. It's the most medieval building still standing in London. It looks terrifying and pretty and historic all wrapped into one.)
8. Coffee Break (Rejuvenating...cutest little cafe overlooking the Tower Bridge. We watched the rain pour outside the window and sipped frothy coffees in real mugs)
7. Westminster Abbey (Historic...of course it was beautiful; it made me want to just sit down in awe to pray. The ceilings were my favorite and the stain glass windows came in close second. But hands down, the best part for me was the historical aspect. I saw the tombs of Queen Elizabeth, several King Henry's and Edwards, Mary Queen of Scots, and Chaucer. I mean...wow. That's a ton of really historical figures just right there. Not to mention the hundreds more tombs that were there, along with all the tiny chapels tucked away and dedicated to famous historical figures. Some oddities: a monument to Shakespeare (in a church?!) and the tomb of evolutionist Charles Darwin.)
8. Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery (Bummer...it ended up being closed, we got our times wrong. But the square was beautiful at dusk with fountains and monuments and the glistening wet streets from the rain.)
9. Dinner (Fabulous...I was hungry. We went to this really cute Italian place. Who said English food was bad? So far, we haven't had a bad meal! We had pizza and salad and I think I almost ate the entire pizza by myself!)
10. Back to the hotel (Bedtime...early start tomorrow)
WEDNESDAY
1. Tower of London (Medieval....I couldn't believe i was standing in THE Tower of London. It was insanely cool. There was still etchings in the cells from prisoners. Much of the tower was blocked off, we only saw a few cells. The rest was old chapels and bed chambers for the royalty that stayed there in times of distress. I thought it was interesting they really were trying to make it seem like a glorified castle rather than the grim place it really used to be. The grounds were beautiful though! Who would have thought? And it was sooo old! That's what blew my mind. Sitting in the middle of this thriving city is this almost perfectly reserved place of history. So much history.)
2. Buckingham Palace. (Stately...just like a place for royalty should be. We didn't go inside or in the gardens in back because they charge absurd amounts, but it was fun to see it. The park next to it was sprawling acres of green gorgeousness. While walking around the grounds we ate some ham paninis!)
3. British Library (Awesome....being a massive book lover, this blew me away. There was an exhibition where we saw first edition Shakespeare, handwritten notes of Jane Austen, handwritten jottings of Bach, Handel, Beetoven, and the Beatles! There was drawings of Di Vinci as well! All in their own hands, it was so cool! The library itself was many stories tall just full of shelves of books. I could have been there for hours!)
4. Quick change into clothes to go see Les Miserables (Little black dress!)
5. Dinner (So good...at this little Italian place next to the theatre. Their lasagna was to die for! It was fun to be a bit dressed up too!)
6. Les Miserables (Speechless...I laughed, I cried. I knew I loved the story and the music, but you put it all together with some great actors and singers and you get chills! It was unbelievable I didn't want it to end! And the music has been stuck in my head ever since! Such an amazing experience).
7. Get ready Oxford here I come!
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